We always take my daughter's Planisphere with us to identify the constellations. In a field in the country it is amazing the 1000's more stars that become visible.
I didn't take my scope this year (10" Celestron SCT) but wish i had, although it would have meant taking a second car. The skies where we stayed were great. If i cant convince the kids not to take anything next year I will squeeze the scope in, failing that I'll definatley be taking a pair of binos.
Went to a camp site in Cornwall that has a 9" reflector in the field! They have a bloke come around and do a session about astronomy. 40 mins or so in a room (home of the astronomy club there) and then out into the field to look through a selection of scopes and a chat about things.
I always take my 15x75's with me, my scope is too big for the car and the bins are good fun to be honest, picking things out with them in a clear sky is great. Had an amazingly clear night in dorset a while back, one of the best skies I have ever seen, was a few miles away from Corfe Castle near Swanage.
If I buy a bigger car for next year then I will definately take my scope with me no doubt about that!!!
I think that combining a hobby like this with camping is perfect! The low light pollution on a good rural site is so good for star gazing, no matter whether it is with binos, a scope or just the naked eye!
Similarly, bird watchers (of the ornithological variety) and wild life fans often turn to camping as it is an obvious way to pursue a rural pastime.
Any of these make excellent family activities too.
We were in France this summer. the star light was so bright that it cast shadows. I really wish there had been an expert there to point out what to look at.
Alan
We had a great weekend camping at the Herstmonceaux science centre in East Sussex, they had a weekend astronomy festival last month. There was a field of tents, and I've never seen so many impressive telescopes in one site!
The centre has four domes which they opened up when it got dark, and we got to see through their big telescope.
It was a great family weekend out, my kids thoroughly enjoyed it, we hope to go back and do it again next year.
The BBC do some good maps of the stars and relevent positions of the planets. Before I go I tend to take a print out for the period. I also use a Planisphere and binoculars.
In my view it is always worth planning you viewing. Look for visible planets or Galaxys (depending on your magnification) and try to find some memorable constellations. IMO it's more fun when you are trying to find something rather than blindly look up!
------------- Anything becomes a pleasure if one does it too often!
We camped next to some people in march one year who had an enormous telescope miniscule tent and a smart car. We made the hot chocolate they showed us saturn!
------------- Good friends are hard to find, difficult to leave and impossible to forget.
We were in the Lakes in Aug, the sky was amazing at night. Absolutely beautiful. Managed to catch a couple of shooting stars as well. Fantastic! Wish I was there now.